﻿Manchester Memoirs, Vol. xlix. (1905), No. 12. 5 



the ferns was confirmed. During the last decade of the 

 past century a number of cases of a similar combination 

 of characters came under investigation {e.g., Heterangium, 

 Protopitys, Medullosa, Calamopitys) leading to the re- 

 cognition, under the name Cycadofilices, appropriately 

 suggested by Potonie in 1897, of an extensive group of 

 Palaeozoic plants intermediate, at least in vegetative 

 characters, between ferns and Cycadophyta. For the 

 moment we will continue to fix our attention on Lygino- 

 dendron. 



As long ago as 1877 Stur had detected the fertile 

 fronds of a SpJienopteris (S. Stangeri) scarcely distinguish- 

 able from the foliage of Lyginodendron oldhamium, and, 

 as is now evident, itself belonging to a stem of the 

 Lyginodendron type. The fructification described by Stur 

 {Calymmatotheca Stangeri) is borne on a naked, branched 

 rachis, and consists of lobed, cupule-like structures, inter- 

 preted by the discoverer as of the nature of an indusium 

 opening by valves.* Although Stur's description has 

 proved to have been perfectly accurate, the specimen by 

 itself was insufficient to clear up the question of the true 

 character of the fructification (Stur, '77). 



The discovery of the seed of Lyginodendron old- 

 hamium in 1903, will be fresh in the minds of many of 

 my hearers. My friend Prof. F. W. Oliver had the happy 

 inspiration to turn his attention to the unassigned seeds 

 of the Coal-Measures, which for a good many years had 

 been rather neglected by palaeobotanists. In the course 

 of his work he observed that one of these seeds, Lageno- 

 stoma Lomaxi, bore, on the husk or cupule which enclosed 

 it, remarkable glands, agreeing exactly with those on 



* Some authorities regarded the valves or lobes as sporangia, a view I 

 was once inclined to accept. Observation of the actual specimen, however, ' 

 proves that Stur's original interpretation was right. 



